


The Last Portrait

by Rainbow820



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Marvel Reverse Big Bang 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28094298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainbow820/pseuds/Rainbow820
Summary: What if Steve Rogers knew from the start that Bucky was alive? What if Steve made it his goal to find his best friend and bring him home?
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 13
Kudos: 40
Collections: Marvel Reverse Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Art For "The Last Portrait" by Rainbow820](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28096257) by [Taste_is_Sweet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taste_is_Sweet/pseuds/Taste_is_Sweet). 



> Hello everybody, this has been a batshit insane year as we all know. So I hope this story can put your mind off of things for a few minutes as it did for me while writing it. 
> 
> Shoutout to the mods for running the Marvel Reverse Big Bang event even in the face of all of this, the true MVPs. Make sure to check out the Tumblr page you'll find so much good art and fics there. Now a big shoutout to my artist, Taste_is_Sweet, who drew the amazing art that inspired this fic. Thank you much to my beta, Huntress79, the story is now readable thanks to them.
> 
> And now I present, The Last Portrait

Steve looks at Bucky over his mug of coffee as the camp sky begins to light up. Up here on the alps, it gets light so early.

Bucky’s cheeks are still gaunt and his eyes are haunted but he’s beautiful. Steve has never been happier to be by Bucky’s side. Equals now more than ever. Capable of looking after each other. Not just Buck fretting over his sickly self.

Steve smiles watching Bucky stretch and cracks his neck. He’s alive and they’re together.

“Something on my face?” Bucky asks without turning to look at him. He’s always aware of Steve.

“No.”

Bucky smirks, not feeling the gaze lift off the side of his face, and reaches out to squeeze Steve’s shoulder.

“You should get some sleep, Buck,” Steve tells him. They’ve been on sentry duty all night and now into dawn.

“Getting tired?” Bucky smirks and Steve rolls his eyes.

“No, because of the serum. You, on the other hand, shouldn’t run yourself into the ground,” Steve tells him.

“I’m fine- honest my eyes aren’t even tired,” Bucky says and Steve rolls his eyes again but knows when he’s lost. Bucky is just as stubborn as he is.

“Good news, then you can both go and not be tired in the tents. Our turn” Morita says and Dernier nods smirking at them.

Bucky nods and stands. He turns to look at Steve who pushes off the seat and follows him to the tents.

They zip their tent closed and Steve watches Bucky close for a shiver. He doesn’t look very cold though. “I want to draw you,” Steve says and Bucky rolls his eyes fondly. Of course, Steve does. He always wants to draw Bucky.

Bucky turns and fusses with his hair as Steve finds paper and some pencils. After all these years Bucky has gotten good at sitting still for Steve as he draws him. Not even the chill of the wind on the mountains make him flinch as he sits still.

Steve gazes at Bucky waiting for a shiver or for a drop in heart rate. Even a rumbling of his stomach. He seems unfazed by the shocking temperatures and lack of sleep they’ve all been subjected to. Steve can tell, now, the difference between someone putting up a good front and actually being okay. The benefit of enhanced senses. Bucky is okay. He’s glad for it of course, Steve would never want Bucky to be anything other than okay. But it confuses him. Steve wonders if Zola didn’t do something to Bucky. God, he hopes not. Steve will have Howard take a look at Buck when they get back from this mission.

Bucky smiles at him slightly before his face goes back to impassive. Steve barely needs to look at Bucky anymore to get a good portrait. But any moment could be their last during the war and he doesn’t want to forget any moment with Bucky. Upon the alps with the flicker of their lamplight and the howling of wind that blows snow against their tent, Steve wants to remember every second of this. 

* * *

“Ready?” Steve asks his team looking down the cliff face. He feels the press of paper against his chest when he moves. Where he slid the drawing of Bucky into his breast pocket.

“You remember when I made you ride the cyclone on Coney Island?” Bucky asks him out of the blue and Steve nods, relaxing. Of course, he does.

“Yeah, and I threw up?” he responds, still squinting down at the train tracks.

“This isn’t payback is it?” Bucky asks looking down with him. Steve glances up at the zipline and smirks.

“Now why would I do that?” Steve responds and Gabe Jones tells them Zola is on the train and the mission is on. Steve reminds them not to miss their window. He jumps followed by Bucky and Gabe. Time to take these bastards down.

Steve whirls around hearing the door close behind him and Bucky is still on the other side. He starts slamming on it as he hears a whirring of a HYDRA gun and the reflection in the window of the door.

Steve curses to himself seeing Bucky facing off against his own gunman but turns to raise his gun. Bastards.

He manages to knock out the armored man by ramming into him and looks down at the gun. He raises it towards where Bucky is hearing gunfire and hopes Buck isn’t by the door. Steve fires and runs to get his friend. Gabe better not have gotten himself killed either.

Steve glances at Bucky and nods, tossing him his gun. Bucky nods back catching it. Steve rams out a case to force the enemy soldier to one side and turns to watch Bucky shoot him once through the head.

“I had him on the ropes,” Bucky tells him as Steve walks back towards him. Steve smiles a little just glad he’s okay.

“I know you did,” Steve breathes out when he hears the whir of one of those stupid laser guns again. He shouts out to Bucky and pulls him behind him raising his shield. They never quit, do they? Steve huffs against the wall watching Bucky pick up his shield by the edge of the train and his heart skips a beat. The wall of the train has been blown out.

Bucky needs to move away from there. Now. Steve lurches to his feet as Bucky is knocked out of the train and tosses his shield- hard. The armored soldier goes down and he rushes to Bucky barely sparing the other man a glance. Bucky is still holding on.

“Bucky!” Steve shouts to get his attention and Buck’s head turns towards him. Steve looks at the railing and starts to climb out towards him. If he can just get his hand. “Grab my hand,” he says, and then something cracks.

“No!” Steve shouts, lurching out and Bucky’s wide eyes meet his.

Bucky howls in terror as he falls out of sight.

Steve clenches his fists harder against the railing, his heart thudding as he stares in disbelief. The wind whips against him and the echo of Bucky’s scream fades away. He turns his head to the train eyes burning as his hands start to ache and his stomach sits heavy like lead. No-no Bucky can’t be dead.

This isn’t happening. What the fuck is he supposed to do? Steve climbs back into the train and sobs overtake him. Steve gazes down at the shield lying where it fell after taking out the guard who killed Bucky. No, Steve let Bucky die. His vision is blurry as he walks towards the front of the train. No one else is in his way. No one for him to take it out on.

When he gets to the cockpit Gabe has taken down the last guard and Zola has his hands up. “Captain?” Gabe asks, seeing him and Steve’s vision goes red.

A snarl erupts from his throat and he leaps forward when a gun slams into his chest. Gabe with wide eyes is the one to wobble from the impact and Steve wants to rip Zola’s throat out with his teeth.

“You stupid fucking Nazi Hydra fucks.” Steve growls and Gabe places a hand on his shoulder.

“Rogers, we need him alive. At least for now.” Gabe says softly, hands trembling. Steve hears his rapid pulse. Gabe is scared and from the watering of his eyes probably is guessing what happened.

“Zat means hands-off captain” Zola sneers. Steve glares at him clenching his fists.

“Once we have what we need well no one will deny you anything, Cap. You can grind his bones into dust” Gabe assures him and Steve punches Zola in the head.

He throws him over his shoulder and breathes out harshly. “Let’s get off this fucking train.” Steve scowls.

“Um, Bucky…” Gabe winces. “His body…?”

“Fell off the train” Steve snaps, wiping his eyes and then sobs again. Gabe has tears on his cheeks and rubs at Steve’s soldier. Bucky was one of them, a Commando, his brother. But he can’t even imagine what he was to the Captain.

* * *

“Steve,” Peggy says and stops, seeing him painting. He’s applying watercolors to a portrait of Sergeant Barnes. She closes her eyes, looking at the red that rims his eyes and the way his hands are shaking. He’s heartbroken.

“I’m going for a drink,” Steve declares and stands. He’s been doing this frequently ever since Bucky died. He brushes past her out of the room and Peggy sighs leaning against the doorway.

She’ll give him some time. Once he has some alone time to grieve she’ll go get him. He hasn’t had more than a few hours in the month since Bucky died to grieve his best friend.

Peggy finds him in the bar where they first started the howling commandos. The Blitz has torn it to shreds. Steve is crying and drinking. He tells her he can’t get drunk and she tells him she knows.

Peggy skips any further small talk to try and snap Steve out of his guilt. He genuinely blames Barnes’ death on himself. She did read the report and it was clear as day Barnes died because a Hydra soldier blew out the side of the train and then blew Bucky out.

That soldier is dead and Steve can’t get any revenge anymore out of him because the simple toss of the shield before Barnes fell killed him.

“I won’t stop till every last one of Hydra is dead or captured” Steve swears to her.

“You won’t be alone” Peggy promises him. But she remembers why Steve was picked. It was written in the file. “I don’t want to kill anybody. I just don’t like bullies.”

She knows the look of a broken man. Unfortunately, she thinks they need the broken man to defeat Hydra. The one who is willing to do whatever it takes.

She takes him back to the base and stands in the doorway to make sure he gets ready. Peggy glances at the portrait of Bucky that Steve is sliding into his jacket. “March” was added to the bottom. She wonders why he chose to label it for this month. Maybe it wasn’t finished yet. Not to Steve. Now he’s accepted the death and he’s ready to avenge him. They’re having a meeting about how to breach the final Hydra base in the alps.

She knows Steve doesn’t want to ever see or hear about the alps again let alone return there but he’ll have to. If only to kill Schmidt with his own hands he will have to return to the mountains.

* * *

“Steve” Howard calls running after the meeting. His friend has been silent since Barnes died. Everyone was shocked to hear him contribute anything at all in that meeting. Howard isn’t. Steve just proposed suicide.

“Howard” Steve sighs, turning around. His eyes are bloodshot and he looks terrible. Like he’s dead already.

Howard glances around and pulls Steve into a side room. “What if- when they capture you Schmidt doesn’t want to gloat and he just kills you?” Howard asks and Steve just blinks at him.

After a beat, Steve seems to realize that the question demanded an answer. “He’ll want to gloat” Steve assures him and he seems to know it like it’s a fact.

“Why would he want to gloat to you?” Howard demands. If Steve is just trying to get himself killed they might as well shoot him now and come up with a plan that might actually win the war.

“Because he hates me. He hates me and when I see his pathetic mug I’m going to gloat right back because I hate him and I’m going to ruin him.” Steve says his grin suddenly sickening. His eyes aren’t tired, they're full of wrath.

Howard nods understanding now. This isn’t a suicide mission or a way to win the war. This is personal. Steve Rogers is going to kill every last person responsible for Barnes’ death.

* * *

“I gotta put her in the water” Steve tells her over the comms.

“We can work it out” Peggy tries but she hears his conviction. He knows they could. He could jump out. He wants to go down with it. She knew he wanted to die from the moment they set out for the final strike against HYDRA. It’s why he refused any backup at all. Bucky is dead and Steve has avenged him. It’s time for him to go too.

They talk about a dance Peggy knows will never come. Tears fill her eyes as he jokes about not stepping on her feet and then silence. He crashed it. He called to say goodbye.

Steve smiles at the compass and at Peggy’s smiling face. He pulls out the portrait of Bucky and presses a kiss to the paper face. Steve stares up at the orange sun as the Valkyrie sinks into the ice and walks back towards the hull of the ship he lays down and slides the compass into his pocket. Steve clutches the paper tightly and closes his eyes letting the cold lull him to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

When they put Rogers in a room they take the things he had with him. His costume. His shield. A compass. And a portrait of a young man.  _ Bucky March ‘45 _ . 

“Barnes died in February of 44” someone notes and they shrug. Who knows. Sitwell knows that’s an error. In fact, the entire museum spiel on Barnes is an error. It lists him as the oldest of four when he really only had one younger sister. And he fell off that train in 1945, not 1944. Sitwell knows that their asset didn’t die at all. He takes the portrait away from evidence deleting its records and brings it to his superiors.

What shall they do with this problem? Rogers loves Barnes - that much was always clear to Hydra. They just never had an opportunity to use Barnes against Rogers. Now they do.

“What’s the play?” Sitwell asks Pierce. 

Pierce hums and stares at the painting. What to do with their asset. “Rogers will go to the end of the Earth to find Barnes if there is even a hint he is alive. So we dangle Barnes in front of him. Make Rogers rip through SHIELD to find him.” Pierce tells him. 

“Sir wouldn’t that expose us?” Sitwell asks, confused. 

“Who better to start Project Insight than Captain America himself?” Pierce says with a grin and they go their separate ways. 

Sitwell knows he has to trust in his superiors but he isn’t certain where Pierce wants to go with this. It’s not really his problem, he supposes. He'll just have to follow his orders. 

* * *

Steve looks around the bare apartment. There is a suede brown couch and a coffee table. A small kitchen with a little table and two chairs. Off to the side is a bedroom with what looks like a queen bed. A little bathroom in the room next to it. Better than what Steve grew up with he supposes. 

He unpacks his things and hears the whir of electricity all around him. Being off the streets is somehow more deafening. He needs to get outside. 

Steve ditches his SHIELD tail almost immediately and shakes his head ducking into a coffee shop. You’d think a spy organization could hire better spies. 

Steve reaches for his card and figures they probably can track him using whatever electronic things they’ve given him. 

“Oh my god,” a voice whispers and Steve bites back a groan. He knows they put out news reports announcing his return. That was the last thing he wanted: fame. 

“Hello” Steve begins and an old woman has wrapped him into a hug. “Oh, ok,” Steve mumbles, hand coming up to awkwardly pat her back. 

“Stevie” she gasps against his chest. Steve blinks at that. Only those closest to him called him Stevie. 

“Grandma!” a younger woman, maybe early to mid-twenties hisses eyes wide. Grey-blue eyes and blonde hair. 

Steve looks down at the woman who pulls back hair a shocking white and her face weather-worn. Her eyes, though... her blue-grey eyes and little bow mouth. “Rebecca?” Steve asks in almost a whisper.

She nods tightly and reaches back for the confused young woman. “Kim please get my wallet. I need to buy an old friend a cup of coffee,” she says, fingers clenching around his biceps. 

The young woman, looking no less confused, obeys, and hands over her grandmother’s wallet. Steve can’t believe it. Bucky’s baby sister is alive with her own grandchild and much older than Steve is now. When Steve last saw her it was on the day Buck shipped out. She was nineteen. 

“Steve, what did you want?” Rebecca asks and he shrugs. “Still like caramel?” She asks. Steve smiles and nods- she remembers him well enough it would seem. 

She orders something Italian sounding he’d know if he was really listening and then brings him over to their table. 

“This is my granddaughter Kimberly. Kim, this is your great uncle, Bucky’s best friend Steve. He was practically my brother too. With the way they were attached at the hip.” Rebecca smiles and Steve smiles back. She was always wanting to be left alone. Bucky was terribly overprotective of her. 

“Nice to meet you,” Kim says, smiling tight. She clearly thinks her grandmother has lost it. 

* * *

Steve looks at the folder on the floor in front of his door. Clearly slid under while he was out. It’s not marked SHIELD. 

He bends down and runs his thumb under the tab ripping it open. It’s the portrait of Bucky he woke up without. 

_ “They’re hiding things from you.” _ Is all that is written out onto the piece of paper. Steve clenches his jaw. He knows that. Of course, they are. 

What is he supposed to do with this? SHIELD seems to be monitoring him at every turn and they obviously have plants all over the neighborhood. He can’t exactly run off and try and figure out what this means. 

Or can he? Someone seems to be on his side, at least to a certain extent. SHIELD thinks he’s some geriatric from the 1940s. But he’s pretty sure he can work out a computer. Just not the ones they gave him. He spent too much time around Howard to trust technology like that. 

Steve runs a thumb down the side of Bucky’s drawn cheek and sets the portrait in his nightstand before picking up the phone they gave him.

They spent a stupid amount of time trying to teach him how to use it. And did he play stupid just to annoy them? Maybe, but these phones are ridiculously easy to use. Plus the games are really addictive. Kim even got him onto Twitter and made him follow her. 

Kim and Rebecca. Maybe he can use their computers. SHIELD would have no reason to know who they are. 

Steve finds them in Queens on knocks on the door. After a moment Rebecca opens it and her face lights up. “Oh! Steve, come in. Come in” she says. 

“Sorry to bother you, Becca. Is Kim around?” Steve asks. 

“Kim? Oh no she went back to her dorm. She goes to Columbia, you know, for art history. I went there, it's where I met my husband...” Rebecca rambles on and Steve looks at the pictures on her mantle. 

Bucky, holding her up over some candles at her sixth birthday party, their parents smiling behind them. Steve took that picture. Then Bucky in his uniform is right beside it. From 1944. 

Wedding pictures of Rebecca and her husband. Pictures of a young woman and a young man.  The woman is in a nursing uniform and that is the last picture of her. “My baby girl died in Vietnam. In a hospital. Figure that,” Rebecca says softly. “My boy was at Columbia learning biology. Wanted to be a doctor to help his sister in Vietnam. But she died so he switched to psychology. Became a therapist for the VA,” Rebecca says softly and Steve nods. Her son has dark hair and darker eyes but a soft smile. He’s tall for certain and has round glasses on. 

Steve looks at the pictures of her son’s wedding to a young woman with blonde hair. And then the pictures of her grandchildren Scott and Kimberly. Scott, besides the very blond hair, looks just like Bucky. Same jaw, same eyes, same smile. Hell, same hairline. 

“Where does Scott live?” Steve wonders. 

“He moved to LA. He's a lawyer. A big shot out there,” Rebecca tells him.

“Columbia?” Steve wonders seeing a trend. 

“No, he went to the University of Chicago. Wanted a change of pace but still to be in a city” Rebecca shrugs and Steve nods. 

Bucky’s family. He missed his sister's wedding and watching his niece and nephew grow up. He missed his great-nephew and niece being born and now they’re grown themselves. From what Steve has garnered Kim is only a few years younger than he is, actually speaking. 

Steve blinks away the tears burning at the back of his eyes. “I have more pictures on my computer,” Rebecca says and leads him over. He nods and sits down letting her show him how it works. “Oh, heavens look at the time. I need to be off Steve but I’ll be back around six if you wanted to stay for dinner. Make yourself at home” she says. 

Steve turns to watch her grab her coat and keys. “Where are you going, Becca?” Steve asks. 

“I am the assistant director for the veteran's soup kitchen. I like to meet with the soldiers” Rebecca smiles softly and then she’s off. 

Steve nods. He’ll have to go with her someday, but now he needs to work out this internet thing. 

* * *

“Computer science?” Kim asks Steve. She looks skeptical, setting down her book. Steve gives her his best grin and nods. 

“I’m really interested in modern technology. I saw the cutting edge with Howard Stark but this is stuff I really want to understand,” Steve says and Kim sighs. 

“My… friend is one of the IT department heads. He’ll probably let you do whatever sketchy stuff you want on the computers” Kim says. 

Steve nods, smiling. So she knows he’s up to something. Oh, well. “Sleeping with the department head then?” Steve asks and Kim blushes and rolls her eyes. 

“It’s just sex, Rogers,” she tells him and turns back to her books. “I have a test tomorrow on the artwork of the Meiji Restoration in Japan so go get me Starbucks and I will get you into the computer labs,” she says and Steve grins. 

“Deal,” he says, hopping up and grabbing his jacket. He checks for his wallet and phone before strolling out of her room in Broadway Hall. 

They really have gotten creative with all their drinks these days. He’s been going down the menu one by one and trying all sorts of syrups and kinds of milk. He thinks Bucky would like the peppermint drinks that they have in the winter. 

Steve likes the pumpkin spice ones but from many thanksgiving rants, Steve knows Bucky cannot stand pumpkin. Kim likes the hazelnut syrup with as many espresso shots as will fit. 

He likes these new drinks and food. They taste better. Except for the bananas - he refuses to even call them bananas. 

Steve gets their drinks and walks back to the dorm, watching someone on a motorcycle weave through traffic. He wonders if he could convince SHIELD to buy him one. Walking gets boring after a while. 

* * *

Steve gets the rundown on IP spoofers and making his own VPN because clearly, Kim told her… friend, that he was up to no good. Of course, he wasn’t allowed to work in the school itself. One he doesn’t even go there and two the school doesn’t need to be under scrutiny. So he gets his own personal computer and her friend helps get it upgraded. 

He’s told to go to cafés all over the place and not do anything illegal in his house because a shady government agency is a serious business. Still, it’s helpful. And he knows if there is any part of SHIELD that knows something about Bucky that he doesn’t, they won’t tell him. 

Every part of the organization bothers him. He was told it was founded by Peggy and Howard, but none of that calms his nerves. Peggy and Howard would have and did, do anything it took to win. No hesitation, no room for argument. If it served their agenda they would do it. Including human experimentation and knowingly letting said human experimentation kill himself. 

Steve sighs and rubs his temples looking for anything on Bucky. All he gets is the public story. James Barnes and Captain America, best friends since childhood. Bucky died for America. There has to be something else. Why would the picture be returned to him with that warning if there wasn’t more to be found? 


	3. Chapter 3

“That cannot be him,” Kim tells him, scooting her swivel chair closer to his. It's late and the café they're in about to close and they've found something. Steve and her are staring at a picture of _“The Winter Soldier”_ on some theory website about the Communist scourge. It is 1991 and standing in the back of one of Howard Stark’s parties is the winter soldier. 

There are dozens of pictures of him with a mask on over the decades and it’s theorized he’s a super soldier or it’s a legacy title. In the fashion of the Dread Pirate Roberts. But that is definitely Bucky. 

Steve knows his best friend anywhere. His eyes are blank and dull and the picture is grainy, but he knows Bucky. 

“That’s Bucky,” Steve assures her and feels his eyes burning. He pulls out the portrait he has of him and hands it to Kim. He doesn’t want to share Bucky with anyone, but Kim is family. Bucky’s family is his family. 

“Fuck,” Kim says softly. 

“Yeah.” Steve laughs wetly. She hands him back the portrait and searches for the winter soldier. Almost nothing comes up, other than discussions about the strategies of Russian Soldiers in general. 

“Google isn’t going to cut it, Steve,” Kim says and Steve sighs. They clear the search history and stand. Kim cracks her back and drums her fingers on the desk. “You have to get into the shady government files. Ours and probably Russia’s from the looks of it” she says and Steve nods. He knows. 

“Can I crash on your couch?” Steve asks. 

“Course for your comfort I’ve upgraded it to a pull-out and get this bamboo pillows. I got a good deal. Black Friday special” Kim grins at him and pulls him along. 

He laughs and they bid the staff a good night before he laces his arm with Kim's. He’s gotta find Bucky. He figures they did something to him when the portrait was returned. And thinking about how well Bucky handled the cold and the experiments Zola did.

Steve hopes whatever the Winter Soldier is that Bucky is still there for him to find. He has to find him. 

When Steve gets back to his apartment on the floor is another folder. Outpour pictures of Bucky in cryo chambers. Pictures labeled with the SHIELD logo. 

_ “Now you’re getting it Captain” _ is the message left with them. 

Steve screams out and kicks his coffee table into his couch watching them both splinter and break. 

He’s going to find Bucky and Kim was right; he needs the SHIELD computers to do it. He just needs to work out how to get into them. 

* * *

Steve grunts as the punching bag goes flying and sand spills at his feet. He hears Fury come in and sighs hanging up another bag. He has no interest in hearing a word this man has to say. He doesn’t trust any part of SHIELD but he might be the only way to find Bucky. 

“Mission for me sir?” he asks and looks at him out of the corner of his eye. He’s told Howard found the tesseract because of course, he did. He wouldn’t have been Howard Stark if he left it in the ocean. Plus an energy source like that...easy to track. 

Steve mostly tunes out Fury’s justifications for why they have the tesseract. He hears his steady heartbeat. He’s good, Steve will give him that. But it’s the unchanging heartbeat even as he speaks his convictions that give him away. It should be ticking up- he’s very good at lying though. Of course, Fury should have remembered Steve didn’t just know Howard he was friends with him. Trusted the man with his life. And he knows Howard Stark never viewed the tesseract as an energy source. He saw it for what it is. A weapon. 

“Anything we should know?” Fury asks as Steve walks out of the room. Steve smirks to himself and shakes his head. 

“You should have left it in the ocean,” Steve says and thinks he should have been left in the ice too. 

He heads for his apartment ready to start reading up on his teammates. Some of them he’s heard of and others he hasn’t. Stark, for example, is Howard’s son. And somehow more of a showman than his father. 

* * *

Steve shoulders his duffle bag and climbs aboard the shield jet taking him to the aircraft carrier to meet the others. 

Coulson is a simple type- he can tell. Just like the regular grunt soldiers who’d do anything ordered of them no questions asked. A simple soldier who’d never feel guilt for things they did. 

An easy agent to get in with and he already admires Steve. A potential ally as soon as Steve works out if he’s a spy or a regular agent. Because if he’s a good agent then the right push here, a word there and Steve can get access to SHIELD’s files much easier than trying to work out hacking himself. 

Steve meets Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. An assassin and ex KGB spy. She could be helpful. From the files, Steve understands she left Russia for Barton and now she has joined their team to get him back.

If Barton is a gun for hire as it looks like in his files, then he can be swayed from SHIELD. He often gets field assignments to keep his boredom from building up. 

“He ask you to sign his trading cards yet?” Romanoff asks him as they walk away from Coulson. 

“Trading cards?” Steve smirks and looks at her. 

“They’re vintage.” She smirks back and shrugs. “He’s very proud of them.”

Steve shakes his head and sighs. He looks at the nervous-looking man beside a jet and smiles. He recognizes him well enough. “Doctor Banner,” Steve calls out. A brilliant mind, distrustful of the government, but good heart if he’s here to help. He’s not on SHIELD’s side and if he sticks around his brain and the Hulk could be absolutely invaluable to the team. 

Steve follows them inside and hands Fury a tenner. He’ll admit when he’s lost and an aircraft carrier being able to fly sure as hell surprised him. 

Steve feels the sharp gaze of Agent Hill on him, Fury’s right-hand woman. She’s on his side without fail or question he can tell in the respectful gazes they threw each other. He looks out the window gazing out at the clouds and sighs. 

He walks around gazing at the computers and figures if he can get onto one of them he could figure out what he needs to know. 

“Where are you on that?” Steve hears Banner ask. He walks closer. This is about the tesseract now. 

“We’re sweeping every wireless phone” Coulson begins and Steve knows the horror must show on his face. They’re completely invading all privacy for the sake of security. 

Steve’s gaze flicks to Romanoff and her attention is on a screen looking for Barton. He was correct about her priorities. As well as SHIELD’s. Whatever it takes, but they’re fighting for two different things. Should be easy enough to pull the two spies away from SHIELD. As long as he pulls them together. 

He’ll have to keep an eye on Banner; he seems shifty and prone to moving often. The government also keeps a close eye on him. But it’s Stark he wants. If Tony Stark is anything like his father he will relish in an opportunity to poke around where he’s not wanted. 

Stark might be the key to finding Bucky and he just has to make sure the guy is up to it. If he ever shows that is. Fury hasn’t mentioned him but there is no way he isn’t being called in. 

Steve turns his head hearing an agent say they have a sighting on Loki. He’s in Germany at a party, he’s certainly not trying to hide. 

“Cap you’re up,” Fury says and Steve nods. He can go get the bastard, but if Loki is anything like Thor it won’t be easy. At least not according to the reports Barton wrote. 

Stark does show and he manages to get Loki down but the man is a god with magic. And it takes them all of three minutes to take him out. Loki is calculating something that’s for damn sure. 

“Mr. Stark,” Steve greets, panting. Norse Gods can pack a punch. 

“Captain” Stark greets back tightly. Not pleased to meet him then. On the jet Stark mocks him and he’s certainly more sarcastic than his father. Howard’s thing was brutal honesty and flirting. Always flirting. God Steve misses that guy. 

“Fury didn’t tell me he was calling you in,” Steve says, testing the waters. 

“There’s a lot Fury doesn’t mention” Stark responds and Steve knows Stark is the guy for the job. No love lost between him and Fury. If anyone will help him find Bucky just to stick it to SHIELD, it’ll be Stark. 

Steve watches Thor take Loki and figures it’s a family thing. “Think he's a friendly?” Steve asks, wondering if they can trust the gods to sort themselves out. 

“Doesn’t matter. If he has Loki or kills him the tesseract is lost,” Stark says and he does make a good point. 

“We need a plan of attack” Steve stresses. 

“I have a plan- attack,” Stark says and leaps from the jet. Great. Someone that impulsive should not be leading a rescue or whatever mission of any sort. Bucky would have his head for this, but Steve’s gotta keep up. 

Steve grabs a parachute, quips to Romanoff, and leaps out after Stark and the Norse Gods. 

Thor’s hammer packs a wallop and when they convince him to let them question Loki, Steve gets the feeling Thor is a good pick for the team. A natural-born warrior but not a natural-born leader. 

Loki obviously wants to be in the helicarrier for some reason and Steve just needs to work out his angle. Thor even seems confused as to why Loki is staying calm and letting it happen. In fact, he seems confused about Loki’s entire plan. His brother is clearly not who he thought he was. 

Steve listens somewhat to their science talks the same way he used to half-listen to Howard. Stark and Banner know what they’re talking about. Thor doesn’t look completely lost either but he’s clearly more focused on looking at his brother through the screens. 

Natasha is clearly half-listening as well. Realizing she doesn’t know what they mean but scanning for info she can use. A good spy. 

“What about the staff. It works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon” Steve notes. If it was powered by the tesseract or something similar then they should study it. It might be the key to finding the tesseract. 

“I don’t know about that,” Fury says and he’s lying. Steve knows he knows what a Hydra weapon looks like. Why would Fury say that? They don’t want an energy source, that much is clear, but SHIELD can’t seriously think making weapons with the tesseract is a good idea. 

“Monkeys? I don't--” Thor begins and Steve derails that line of conversation and watches Banner and Stark leave. 

He stands up and follows them to see Stark poke Banner. “Are you nuts” he snaps and Stark is joking but Steve knows him. Or at least he and Howard get the same look on their face when they’re thinking. His mind is working fast now and Steve shakes his head. 

“Focus on the problem, Mr. Stark,” Steve presses knowing Stark has an idea of what’s going on. Steve just needs him to show his hand. 

“You think I’m not?” Stark asks. Bingo. “Why do you think Fury called us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn’t he telling us? I can’t do the equation unless I have all the variables.”

Steve holds back a grin. Stark is already working on finding those variables no doubt. “You think he’s hiding something,” Steve deadpans. 

“Captain, he's a spy. He’s the spy. His secrets have secrets,” Stark responds and clearly, Steve needs to improve his sarcastic deliveries. Of course, he knew that. “It’s bugging him too, isn’t it?” Stark says, turning to look at Banner. 

“Uhh… I just want to finish my work here,” Banner says, lowering his head. 

“Doctor?” Steve asks eyes flicking to Banner. Not bad, Stark. 

“A warm light for all mankind. Loki’s jab at Fury,” Banner begins fiddling with his glasses. 

“I heard.” Steve nods. 

“Well I think it was meant for you,” Banner says, looking at Stark. “Even if Barton didn’t mention Stark tower it’s all over the news.”

“Stark tower that big, ugly…” Steve stops and remembers he’s not joking with Howard here. He needs to be more careful with his comments for now. “Building in New York,” he finishes and Stark rolls his eyes. Not offended then but Steve shouldn’t be so prickly with him. 

Banner is on the same track he is. What does SHIELD want with clean energy and if they did why not bring in Stark? This further confirms for Steve that Stark doesn’t work as closely with the government as Howard did. 

“Once my decryption program finishes” Stark smirks and Steve nods slightly. He was right Stark has good instincts and so does Banner. 

“And you wonder why they didn’t want you around,” Steve says and Stark again misses the sarcasm. 

“An intelligence agency who fears intelligence? Historically not awesome” Stark responds and he’s correct. SHIELD isn’t about intelligence it’s about control. 

“Loki is trying to wind us up,” Steve says, shifting topics and reminding them of the more urgent matter. The Norse god in the cell who’s clearly waiting for something. 

They press him about his suspicions and he’s not used to being hard to read. To Buck and his howling commandos and Peggy, he was an open book. Hell, even Becca remembers what each of his smiles means. He supposes it will take time for them to get to know him. 

“Just find the cube,” he says as a parting order and makes his way out of the lab. Steve spins around and heads to where he thinks SHIELD is definitely storing their Hydra weapons. That is the point of all of this, he’s certain. And he doesn’t need a decryption program for that. 

God, it hurts to look at Stark. Looks just like his dad and just as smart. If not a little angrier than Howard but everyone seems angrier these days. He just hopes Stark can help him find Bucky. It’ll kill him if all this heartache is for nothing. 

Steve pulls out the Hydra guns and rolls his eyes. They didn’t even bother to remove the nazi logos from the weapons. 

He returns to the lab and demands that Fury explains himself. He wonders if SHIELD was always supposed to be the American version of Hydra or if this is a new development. 

Steve watches Romanoff stroll back in and huffs. He thought she was brighter than that. Obviously, Loki wants the Hulk out. A distraction. 

And then they’re all arguing and Steve glances at the screen. Loki is smiling like he’s won. God of mischief indeed. 

“Doctor Banner- put down the scepter” Steve orders seeing Fury reach for his gun like that would do anything. They just heard Banner say what a bullet would do to him- nothing. 

“What are you gonna stop me? I’m not afraid to hit an old man” Stark sneers and Steve holds back a flinch. He is twenty fucking eight this year. 

“Put on the suit” Steve barks out. He wouldn’t mind hitting this smug asshole in the face. God and he didn’t think anyone could be more full of themselves than Howard. 

Then the ship is rocked and Steve falls beside Stark. “Put on the suit” he gasps out. 

“Yep,” Stark says and Steve helps him stand running out towards the deck. 

“STARK! STARK! I’M HERE” Steve shouts out into the sky. 

“Good” Stark’s robotic voice rings out and he flies into sight. “Let’s see what we’ve got,” he says and he’s probably scanning for damage. Steve squints up at him the rushing wind and open skies making him nervous. Fury better get them over water. “I need you to get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in an overload position,” Stark says and Steve nods. 

Control panel. He can do that one. “What’s it look like in there?” Stark asks. 

“It seems to run on some form of electricity” Steve deadpans, throwing his hands up. Everything is blinking at him. 

“Well you’re not wrong” Stark quips back. 

“Everything is flashing red if that means overload than all the relays are shot” Steve answers more helpfully. Stark curses and Steve echoes it. 

“Alright, I’ll walk you through resetting them,” Stark says and Steve nods. 

“Okay,” he responds and reaches for the coils. He twists and pulls as he’s told and everything stops blinking. “The relays are intact. What’s our next move?” Steve asks, sliding the panel back in. 

“Well even if I clear the rotors that thing won’t restart without a push,” Stark says. 

“If that thing gets up to speed you’ll be shredded” Steve warns him and Stark starts explaining a lever that should get him out. “Speak English” Steve snaps only needing to know where and when to pull the lever. 

“See that red lever” Stark sighs and now they’re talking. “Stand by it and wait for my word,” Stark says and Steve leaps for it. Why couldn’t he have just said that? 

Steve sees the grenade and leaps to hit it out of the sky. Fuck, they never fucking quit. 

He takes out the guys around him and then leaps back towards the lever picking up the gun. It fires and he grunts. Why couldn’t they have had these during the war? Way more efficient. 

Steve grunts as the helicarrier starts to fall. What the fuck are they doing in there. He steps back to avoid the gunfire and slips. 

Fucking hell. Steve grabs a wire and starts to pull himself up the winds whipping around him making it really hard. “Cap hit the lever!” Stark shouts. 

“Need a minute here” Steve shouts back knowing he needs to pull that or Stark is done for. He hopes he can hold on. Steve ignores the gunfire and reaches up to grab the red lever and yanks it down. 

Stark flies in and tackles the gunman. Steve leans against the wall and breathes out. Least he’s not dead. 

They are told the general gist of the debacle. Coulson is dead. Loki is gone. Barton is back. Thor was sent out in the cage for the Hulk. Banner went down with a jet. 


	4. Chapter 4

Steve sits at the table and groans. Stark is sitting there, eyes haunted. This was pretty much as big of a fuck up as it could have been. Steve knew Loki was planning something like this but what could they have done? He feels calmer somehow now. Before in the lab, he was so angry at Stark. And at Romanoff and everyone else. He wonders what that was about. 

Steve doesn’t appreciate the guilt trip that Fury gives them. They didn’t need it. Coulson was a soldier he died fighting. Fury is really trying though with the rally the troops act. 

Stark storms out and Steve stands to follow. Clean energy source. Reactor. Loki is going for Stark tower. 

Steve sighs and walks to Stark, he presses him and leads him to the same conclusion. Stark wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t a follower. Steve needed him to think it was his plan. Now he just needs to go grab Romanoff and Barton, and hope the others work it out for themselves and meet them in Manhattan. 

He tells Natasha the plan and pretends like he can’t hear Barton in the bathroom. “Can you fly one of those jets?” he asks Natasha. 

Of course she can but- “I can.” Barton interjects and Steve smirks. He looks to Natasha, letting her know he trusts her and her judgment. She nods and Steve nods back. 

“You got a suit?” Steve asks and Barton nods. “Then suit up” he orders them both and walks out. 

Steve watches Stark go for the confrontation and goes for a phone. Romanoff raises an eyebrow but he just shrugs.

_ “Hello?” _ Kim answers. 

“Kim, it’s Steve,” he greets. 

_ “Hi, Steve. Lose your phone?” _ Kim asks him. 

“No- well it’s not important right now. Are you in the city?” Steve asks. 

_ “No, I’m with grandma at my parent's house in Saratoga Springs. You were invited if you recall” _ Kim says. 

“Right right that’s good. Just do me a favor and stay up there. Be safe” Steve says. 

_ “Stevie what’s going on?” _ she asks, voice small. He hates that.

“Nothing good, Kimmy. Just I love you all and tell your parents I’ll be there for certain next time.” Steve says and hangs up. God, he hopes he can keep that promise. And hopefully one day he can bring Bucky with him. 

“Girlfriend?” Barton asks and Steve snorts. 

“Not even close,” he says and waves them towards Stark tower. That’s where the tesseract is and where they should be. 

The sky cracks open and the team comes back together. Steve gives the orders and steadies himself. Nothing could have ever prepared him for this. So it’s a damn good thing he has good soldiers with him.

* * *

Steve sits in the shawarma joint with the team and thinks it’s odd that Loki’s eyes went from blue to green. If his brother didn’t notice then it’s probably not his place to say. Magic is so not his thing. 

“So what now?” Banner asks and Steve leans forward. 

“I could use your help with something,” Steve says and Thor sighs. 

“You are an honorable Captain and one of the finest warriors and best leaders I know. It was an honor. But I must return my brother to Asgard” Thor says and Steve nods. 

“As long as you take the tesseract away from here I’m alright with you leaving,” Steve says and if Thor is surprised by his request he doesn’t show it. Just claps Steve on the shoulder. 

Stark leans back in his chair and looks him up and down before setting the chair on all fours and leaning forward. “What do you need us for Cap?” Stark asks. 

“My best friend Sergeant James Barnes died in 1945 or so I thought. I’ve found evidence that whatever they did to me they did or sort of did to him. Pictures of him from the 1990s and links to him being a soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier” Steve begins and Romanoff gasps and leans in too. Clint looks furious at the name.

Steve figures they’ve had a run-in with him. “Hmm, and you think SHIELD knows something?” Stark asks. 

“No, I know it. I just need computers with encryptions like yours to help me bypass their firewalls. And whatever you two know” Steve says turning to Romanoff and Barton. 

“Let’s get Loki and the tesseract off-world first. Then SHIELD should be busy with cleaning up and Tony can we use your tower as base?” Banner asks and Stark grins. 

“Sounds like a plan,” he says and goes to pay the bill. 

* * *

Wolfgang von Strucker grins as the scepter is delivered to him. Finally. “Bring in the Maximoff twins” he orders and his soldiers move for the city. 

Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. So full of anger. So easy to mold. 

The twins are shown to their room or cells more accurately and Strucker grins at them as they’re brought before him. 

“You will give us revenge against Stark?” Pietro asks. 

“Stark?” Strucker questions. He was allowed his experiments on the condition that he turns the twins against SHIELD. Not the Avengers. Not his place to question why. 

“His bombs killed our family” Wanda spits out. 

“His bombs maybe. But it was the American government program SHIELD who fired them. They seized his weapons and his designs. They attacked your family. Iron Man is a protector” Strucker soothes and they are so young. It’s too easy. 

“As long as we get our revenge” Pietro shrugs. 

“So ladies first?” Strucker asks.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve whistles looking around Stark’s computer labs. Much better than the upgraded one he's been using. 

“So tell us, what do you know about the winter soldier?” Stark asks. 

“Clint doesn’t accept what I told him. He’s sort of a ghost story in the assassin world” Romanoff begins and Barton leans against her on the wall. 

Banner sits down and looks at them as Romanoff raises her shirt and points to a scar. “I was escorting someone and covered them. He shot my target through me. Bye-bye bikinis” Romanoff says and she looks almost scared. 

“Yeah, I’m sure you look terrible in them now,” Steve says and Romanoff smirks while Barton does as well. 

“When and where was this?” Stark asks, pulling up a search screen. Suddenly files upon files of the Winter Soldier pop up. 

Hydra to Soviet Hydra, because apparently, that was a thing, to SHIELD. All things he would have never found without Stark’s help. Steve knew it was the right call. 

They scan through the archives and come to one clear conclusion. Bucky is the Winter Soldier. 

“He’s been brainwashed, that much is clear. He was speaking Russian when I encountered him,” Romanoff tells him, and Steve sighs. 

“Well, I know Russian. I learned it during the war,” he mutters to himself and stares at the picture of Bucky being held down by straps, a metal arm extra pinned down. Oh, Buck. 

Stark is trying to figure out where Bucky went after the 90s because it seems as if SHIELD brought him in from the soviets. But there is no record of him anywhere and it certainly doesn’t list the Winter Soldier as James Barnes anywhere. 

Steve needs to get out of the tower. He walks through the streets ignoring the debris and makes his way to Queens. 

It’s a long walk and the sun is starting to set by the time he makes it to Rebecca’s house. “She’s asleep,” Kim greets him as she opens the door. 

Steve drags her into a hug and she hugs him back fiercely. “I’m so glad you’re ok.”

“Me? Stevie, you were the one in the fight.” Kim scoffs and shuts the door behind them. Steve follows her into the kitchen and she switches on the Keurig. He starts going through the assortment of K-cups in the cabinet while she hops up onto the counter setting mugs down next to her. 

“Tea?” Steve wonders.

“English breakfast but the black tea one,” she says and Steve hums tossing it to her. He gets a Starbucks caramel coffee and grabs the milk from the fridge. 

She has the sugar shaker rolling between her hands and her grey-blue eyes are boring into his back. He listens to the tea trickle into her mug and waits for her questions. 

“Well?” Steve stresses impatience winning over anxiety. 

“Well” what, Rogers?” Kim huffs and reaches for the milk which he hands over. “Do you want me to get mad you did your job and saved the world? I mean I didn’t know you knew my grandma but I had heard of Captain America. It didn’t exactly shock me that you stopped the alien invasion” Kim says and slides off the counter. 

Steve doesn’t say anything getting the feeling these are rhetorical questions. “Did you find out anything else about Bucky?” Kim asks softly stirring her tea while Steve starts his coffee. 

“Yes,” Steve says and she sets the spoon in the skin and stares at him. “He’s alive. At least as of 1991 he was still alive, so we were right” Steve says and Kim nods. “He was taken by Hydra and turned into a super-soldier like me. He is the Winter Soldier and for decades he actually worked for the Soviets. They found him after the war and took him from Zola” Steve continues and Kim looks horrified. 

“Is he still Bucky?” she asks. 

“I don’t know. But I’m going to find him. And I’m going to do everything I can to help him” Steve promises her. 

“Good, then you can officially be my great-uncle at least in law” Kim nods and Steve laughs eyes wide. “Steve obviously you two are going to get married as soon as he’s better,” Kim says and Steve smiles softly. 

“I’d like that,” he says and Kim nudges him with her foot. 

“You’re staying here tonight and then you have to tell grandma about this” Kim tells him. 

“No, she shouldn’t know” Steve begins. 

“Look I don’t know if you think she has a weak heart or if it’s leftover to protect little Becca from when you were kids but she’s a strong woman. She lived through the second world war and then the cold war and the middle east wars. She can handle it. In fact, she wants to know” Kim says confidently. 

“How can you possibly know she wants to know?” Steve says pouring sugar into his coffee. 

“Because I would. If it was Scott, I would want to know.” Kim says and Steve sighs. She has a point. Bucky is the love of his life and his best friend. But he’s Becca’s big brother. She has as much right to know that Bucky is alive as he does. 

* * *

“Strucker” Pierce greets over the hologram call. “How are the twins coming?” Pierce asks. 

“Excellent they are now fully evolved,” Strucker tells him. 

“Good, we're sending in an agent to train and protect them,” Pierce says and watches Strucker blink. 

“Sir?” he asks, clearly annoyed at the lack of briefing. 

Pierce smirks, it’s good to keep these scientists on their toes. Make sure they don’t get too full of themselves or they’ll end up with more Zemo’s. “The Winter Soldier. He will be sent to Sokovia with orders to watch over Pietro and Wanda Maximoff” Pierce says and Strucker’s jaw is working. 

Oh if only Strucker knew how disposable he is. The twins are all they really need out of this, and they’ll be guided by the Winter Soldier. He also of course has orders to guard the scepter and should he need to leave with the twins to take it with him.

“Very good sir. When should we expect his arrival?” Strucker asks and Pierce’s grin widens hearing the banging at the front door. 

“Now,” he says and watches the light spill in as the door is forced open. Strucker grunts out an order to stand down, clearly pissed now. 

“Winter Soldier” he greets and Pierce watches their asset come onto the screen. 

“The twins” he barks out and Strucker glances at the screen. 

Pierce waves and leans forward. “Show him around and you have your orders, soldier,” he says and shuts the camera off. 

Strucker gulps staring at the Winter Soldier and brings him down the hall to the twins. He looks at the cell across from theirs and points to it. “Mine” he barks out and Strucker nods. Fine by him to keep them all where he can see them. 

Strucker nods to the cameras and the doors open for Pietro and Wanda. He’s shaking his hairs turning white, and Wanda’s face is pinched like she is hearing a high-pitched noise. 

“Who is this?” Wanda asks red sparking around her hands. 

“The Winter Soldier. He is your trainer and protector.” Strucker introduces. They are eyeing each other up as he leaves. Strucker wants to watch this. Just from his cameras. 


	6. Chapter 6

Natasha and Clint sit by the water, lemonades in hand as Rumlow sits down beside them. “How much do you trust your new team?” he asks and they look at each other. They've been working with them for a little over a year. Looking for Bucky in between SHIELD missions that take them around the world.

“Well,” Clint settles on and they trust Rumlow. He’s a team leader. Was Clint’s team leader. The one who gave him slack in the SHIELD leash and who talked the uppers into letting the Black Widow join the STRIKE team. Took care of them and never let the missions threaten their lives. If it was going to he threw himself in first. 

“What is it, Brock?” Natasha asks. 

“We had to take Loki’s scepter. We were told where to drop it. Rollins and I thought the whole thing was sketchy. Sitwell said it was Fury’s orders. Rollins looked into it and I asked Pierce. The scepter is gone. Not logged in to SHIELD’s holding systems at any of our sights. In fact information we know about it besides it belonging to Loki of Asgard has been wiped” Brock says. 

Clint and Natasha give each other side looks and sigh. “SHIELD wanted the tesseract for making weapons,” Clint says and they nod. They both knew that. “It was logged and everyone found out about it in SHIELD. Fury likes to keep things close to his chest” Clint says. 

“Compartmentalization,” Natasha smirks and Brock nods. 

“So he could be keeping it unofficial?” he asks and they shrug.

“We’ll have Stark look into it. How much do you trust your current STRIKE team?” Natasha asks. 

“Enough in the field. The only person I’d trust to back me against SHIELD is Rollins” Brock says and they know that. Jack and Brock were partners in every sense of the word. As close as Natasha and Clint themselves. 

“If anything crops upon it tell us,” Clint says and Brock nods. 

“Will do and keep this meeting quiet, yeah?” Brock asks and they nod. Clint stands and Natasha links her arm with his as they walk back towards the tower. 

“I knew we should have taken the scepter,” Natasha says and Clint shrugs. 

“Not much we could have done besides start a fight with SHIELD” he points out. 

“It may come to that” Natasha reminds him. They all knew that. If SHIELD is hiding the Winter Soldier then they won’t let an asset like that go without a fight. But they promised Steve they’d help him get Bucky. 

Steve helped her get Clint back. It’s the least she can do. And SHIELD really is getting on their nerves lately. 

* * *

“So now we have to find Loki’s scepter?” Banner asks and Steve groans. They were finally making progress on finding out where Bucky might have gone after that party at Howard’s in 1991. 

This is a little more dangerous and pressing, Steve will admit. “Anyone have Thor’s number?” Stark asks, pulling up search programs to search for the energy signatures it should be giving off. It was easy to replicate on his computers. Even enhance it since his suits picked up readings on it. 

“No but we should find a way to loop him in,” Romanoff says and she and Clint go over to work on that. 

“Cap access the flight manuscripts from every airport in a 50-mile radius to New York City from up to a month after the invasion. Find any private planes that launched; they wouldn’t have gone through SHIELD if they wanted to keep it quiet” Stark orders and Steve nods pulling up a computer screen. 

Hacking is easy when JARVIS does most of the work for them but he combs through it all looking through runway camera feeds. Looking for anything that’ll help. 

“So who’s Kim?” Romanoff asks and they all turn to stare at Steve. 

“A friend,” Steve says. 

“A friend? You said you loved her and you apparently know her grandmother” Barton cuts in. 

“Ooh,” Stark grins smile stretching. “Was this the co-ed who’s dorm Captain America was seen leaving?” Stark asks and Steve rolls his eyes. 

“I was crashing on her couch after a night at the computer labs. I’ll admit Stark your systems are a little better than the ones at Columbia” Steve gives him. 

“Uh uh Rogers give us more than that” Romanoff teases and Steve looks to see Banner smiling into his screen. 

“She’s my niece” Steve huffs. 

“You don’t have any living relatives” Stark counters and Steve winces at that. 

“Okay if you want to get technical Kim is Bucky’s great-niece. Her grandmother is Bucky’s little sister and she was like one to me too. The last time I saw Becca she was nineteen and waving goodbye to Bucky on the train platform with me. Then I wake up and she’s older than me with grown kids and grandkids” Steve snaps out. 

“Right,” Banner says and his smirk drops. 

“So you and Kim are buddies then?” Natasha asks and Steve nods. 

“Like I said - a friend” Steve huffs and turns back his screen. 

“Jesus lighten up Rogers. You should invite them over once we’ve got Bucky and you know, determined that he’s not a braindead killing machine” Stark says and Steve scowls at him. 

“Shut up Stark” Romanoff interjects and they go back to work. 

* * *

Natasha grumbles as she walks back with the drinks. Drawing straws. They’re a team of super-powered super-genius heroes and they draw straws to see who gets the drinks. Isn’t this what Stark has interns for? 

She sees Rumlow out of the corner of her eye and nods. He falls into step with her and leans in, talking low. 

“We have a mission to collect Sitwell from the ship. We don’t know why SHIELD put him out there but” Brock begins. 

“It’s most likely so I can recover data- it usually is at least,” Natasha interjects. “Ask for Rogers. Ask if he can head the team. And ask Pierce you know he has a soft spot for you” she says and Brock nods. 

“Yes ma’am” he smirks and keeps walking past Stark tower.

“Steve” Natasha calls as the elevator opens into the lab. 

“Yeah Nat?” he calls back half-listening as he leans back in his chair. They all glance at that. The first time he’s referred to any of them with a nickname. Unless calling Bruce- Doc counts. 

“Spoke to Rumlow. We’re being sent on a contrived hostage mission that is a cover for recovering stolen SHIELD info. They hired the pirates and Sitwell is there too” Natasha tells him and sets the drink tray down. 

“So you’re getting the info?” Clint asks and she nods. 

“I told Rumlow to have Steve be made mission leader,” Natasha says and hands Clint a birthday cake pop. She knows he loves those. 

He grins at her and she sits on the workbench beside him as he works on his arrows. “So we wait for Fury to sort of loop us in?” Steve asks. 

“I have some thoughts. He doesn’t trust us. We don’t trust him. He’s doing this separate mission thing to try and break our trust in each other. Let’s let him think he’s winning” Natasha grins and Steve smirks back. 

Tony laughs about spies and chugs his espresso monstrosity before returning to the computers analyzing their fighting styles. For suit purposes. He’s positive he can improve their cohesiveness as a team. 

“Oh Clint - got something for you” Tony remembers and bends down. 

Clint leans over and Tony tosses him a small black case. “Those hearing aids are linked into all the coms” Tony explains and Clint smirks. “You can also pick up certain radio frequencies on the right setting.” 

“Well show me how they work Stark,” Clint says opening the case and Tony grins walking over to him. 

* * *

“The Avengers are a volatile group of individuals” Strucker begins and the twins are watching. He’s very aware of the Winter Soldier behind sharp eyes on the screen. “The leader Captain America - Steven Grant Rogers -” Strucker begins and Winter Soldier steps forward. 

Wanda feels Winter’s mind light up at the mention of the captain. They listen about the others and are sent to the cells for dinner. 

“You know the Captain?” Pietro asks. Clearly, he noticed something too. 

“I did. I...” Winter trails off. Wanda looks into his eyes, always so focused, observing. He’s lost in his own mind. 

“May I?” Wanda asks, raising her hands. Winter looks up and nods. He sets his jaw bracing himself and red shoots across the hall and slams into his face. 

_ “Bucky!” Steve screams and he reaches up for him, his love falling from view. _

_ “See told ya I’d catch ya Stevie” Bucky grins holding Steve from where he leapt from the tree.  _

_ “Is this payback?” Bucky asks a smirking Steve.  _

_ “I’m gonna be sick Buck” Steve groans stumbling to the side of the cyclone. Bucky rubs his back laughing.  _

_ “I just wanna be taller Bucky” Steve sighs as Bucky holds up the folded newspaper he pulled from Steve’s shoes.  _

_ “I thought you were shorter” Bucky mumbles confused as he looks up into Steve’s eyes.  _

_ “Just go I’ll be fine” Steve smiles rubbing his eyes in front of the school. “It’s Becca’s birthday you can’t miss it,” Bucky says. “Come with me” he offers holding out a hand.  _

_ “Just go” Steve shouts across the fiery chasm in the factory. “NO. Not without you!” Bucky screams back slamming his hands on the railing.  _

_ Steve bends the railing jogs back and then leaps.  _

_ “Don’t worry Stevie, I’ve gotcha” Bucky laughs catching his drunk friend as he falls off the curb.  _

“Stop” Winter gasps out and Wanda wipes her tears. The red seeps from his head and Pietro is looking quickly back and forth between them. 

“What’s your name” she whispers and he looks up his eyes filled with tears. 

“James Buchanan Barnes but everyone calls me Bucky” he whispers back, sliding to the ground. “Steve” he gasps out hand flying to his heart. “They’re going to take him away from me,” Bucky says his voice cracking. 

“No, not if I have anything to say about it,” Wanda vows and focuses. The red gently touches his temples and she locks every memory of Steve and who Bucky was, before the train, away behind Bucky’s name. She sees the triggers and adds her own. Bucky will remember who he is as long as he knows his name. 

* * *

“He killed them,” Tony tells Steve, eyes filled with anger as they all watch the footage. 

Bucky killed Howard and Maria Stark in 1991. “Tony” Steve begins softly. “It isn’t him,” he says. 

“He killed them,” Tony repeats and Natasha and Clint stand. They don’t know what Tony will do but him attacking Steve won’t help. 

“Tony,” Bruce says and lays a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Do you blame Clint for what he did with Loki? Me for what I do when I’m the other guy?” Bruce asks and Tony blinks at him. 

“They’re my parents” Tony hisses and Steve raises his hands. 

“I know Tony I know. But if that was Buck- he was Howard’s friend the same as me. He would have never ever hurt him.” Steve insists and Tony’s fists clench. 

“Okay let's go take a breather. See Pepper” Bruce mumbles leading Tony from the lab. 

“I’m gonna go see Kim,” Steve says and Clint pats him on the shoulder before drawing Natasha to his side. 

* * *

Steve looks up hearing the rooftop door open. Tony walks out and sits down beside him looking down below them. 

“I know it’s not him,” Tony begins. 

“But they’re your parents,” Steve finishes. “I can finish the search, Tony. You’ve done more than enough” Steve assures him. 

“My dad spent his life looking for you. Something tells me if he knew that Bucky was out there he would have been looking for him too” Tony says. 

“I hope he would have. We would have for him. The commandos, Howard, and Peggy. We were family” Steve says handing over a folder. There’s a picture of the group of them. Peggy is grinning under Steve’s arm and Bucky has an arm thrown over Steve’s shoulders and the other over Howard’s. 

Howard has his arms thrown over Jim and Bucky. Howard and Bucky’s heads are almost knocked together. 

“I’ll help you find him. And I’ll help you bring him back” Tony says. “My dad would want his friends to be safe” Tony shrugs. “And if it was Pepper, no matter what, I’d hope you’d help me get her,” he says raising his head to meet Steve’s eyes. 

“I would. We all would Tony. And I am sorry for what it’s worth. I never knew your mother but I’m sure if she could put up with Howard that she was amazing. And I’ve missed Howard since I woke up” Steve says. 

Tony smiles and nudges his shoulder. “My mother was amazing. My dad on the other hand never shut up about you. And I’m starting to see why” Tony says and Steve laughs softly. 

“Bucky and I never stopped bragging that we knew Howard Stark personally. I still want my flying car.” Steve teases and Tony laughs, throwing his head back. 

“He told me when he first presented them they failed,” Tony says. 

“Well, they did fly for a second and then crash back into the stage” Steve smirks shaking his head. “That was before the serum. Bucky was going to ship out and he took me to the world fair” Steve tells him.

“He sounds like a good man,” Tony says. 

“He is,” Steve affirms and they stare out at the lit-up city. 


	7. Chapter 7

Steve rubs his eyes as the jet takes them to the pirate ship. Pirates that Fury hired him to fight. He doesn’t want to pretend to fight with Natasha. He never made friends easily. The Howling commandos took some time to warm up to him. And the other soldiers never did like him. 

Peggy said he reminded her of her brother. Strong in his convictions. She liked that about him. 

Howard liked him for the science and then got to know him. Bucky and Peggy were his two best friends and he’s lost them both. He doesn’t want to lose any of the Avengers. 

“Why no parachute?” Natasha asks him over comms. 

“Because when we find Bucky he won’t let me do fun stuff anymore” Steve smirks and hears Natasha laugh. 

He takes down the pirates and fights the Frenchman, slamming him through where he can hear Natasha tapping away.

“Fuck” Steve huffs out knocking away the grenade and grabbing Nat. They jump through a window into the next room. 

Natasha sighs resting her head against Steve’s shoulder and they catch their breath together. “I got it” she says quietly to him and Steve nods. 

Whatever it is Fury wants. This means Stark is going to get it first. Steve helps her up and she rolls her shoulders back. 

They make their way to the jet and Rumlow nods to them. They have what they need. 

Natasha plugs the flash drive into a tablet that Stark gave her and Steve stands enough in front of her that none of them can see. 

They’re dropped off and Natasha delivers the flashdrive while Steve chews out Fury. 

“Ready?” Natasha asks, leaning by his motorcycle. “Steve?” she asks, seeing his ashen face. 

“Nat it’s. Come on” Steve says handing Natasha her helmet. They ride in silence to the hotel room they rented. 

“Steve, what is it?” Natasha asks.

“What do you know about Project Insight?” Steve whispers. 

“I’ve heard whispers. It was more of an idea than a thing” Natasha says eyes widening. He can’t possibly mean-

“It's helicarriers ready to take out threats before they happen. Punishing people before the crimes are committed. It’s worldwide control all according to SHIELD” Steve whispers and Natasha gulps. She’s seen a country who thinks it can control the population. And the measures they will go to in order to get it. 

“We have to tell the team,” Natasha says, leaning against him. Steve nods and he’s shaking. Natasha would say he’d seen a ghost but she thinks he’d handle that better. 

What in the hell is Fury thinking? They need to get Stark this hard drive now. Steve pulls her close and rests his head on her chin. He just wants to find Bucky. Why can’t SHIELD leave well enough alone?

“We can go back to New York,” Steve whispers. 

“No, we should get them here. I’ll call Stark” Natasha begins. Steve sighs and stands. 

“No- I’ll call Tony. You call Clint” Steve tells her and pulls out his phone. He knows Clint's voice will steady her right now. 

* * *

"We need to go” Clint and Tony say at the same time. 

“What is it?” Bruce asks sitting up from his search for Loki’s scepter. 

“Steve and Nat found out some really fucked up stuff. We have to stop SHIELD” Clint says. Bruce begins to nod when the computer starts to beep. 

Loki’s scepter is in Sokovia. Large outputs of energy just went off. Tony hacks into the camera systems and sees a young woman being dragged away from the staff while people shout. 

A metal arm slams into the guards holding her and draws her behind him before guns are pulled. “Fuck.” Tony says realizing who is there with the staff. 

“Let’s get to DC and then we tell Steve what we saw,” Clint suggests and Tony nods, transferring the video footage to his phone and they’re off. At Tony’s insistence, they take his private jet. No need to announce to SHIELD the Avengers are on their way.

Bruce sits beside Clint while Tony fiddles with something in the back of the plane. He doesn’t want to be anywhere near SHIELD headquarters but if they’re all that shaken something has to be done. 

Clint lands the plane at a regular airport and they rent a car. They make their way to the hotel where Steve and Natasha are staying. Tony got the next adjoining set of rooms so they should be settled. 

They dump their bags and knock on the door to Steve’s room. Natasha throws it open and drags them in. Clint pulls her into a hug and whispers into her ear. Steve pats Tony and Bruce on the shoulders before shutting the door behind them. 

“You gotta see this” they all say at once. Natasha hands Stark the tablet so he can work that out and Steve hands over his suit camera so they can see Project Insight. 

Tony hands his phone over to Steve and Natasha so they can watch the film of Bucky protecting the scepter and the girl. 

They all sit on the ground going through their various things. “What do we do?” Steve asks, voice thick as his hands shake. Natasha takes the phone from him and Tony looks up. 

“We’re better together but this time I think we need to split up. I have a signal in New Jersey for this thing. I can go with Nat or Clint. Steve, you need to hightail it to Sokovia and Bruce should go with him for backup” Tony says. 

“I’ll go with Stark,” Natasha says and Clint nods at her. “We have to take down SHIELD.” 

“She’s right. If we shut down Project Insight they’ll build another. We have to cripple the organization,” Steve says. His team nods and he breathes out in relief. He shouldn’t have been worried. The first things he noticed about them were their lack of loyalty to SHIELD. “Call Rumlow,” Steve says and stands up. 

They all nod at each other and Clint presses a kiss to the side of Nat’s head before they suit up. 

“Cap,” Tony says and hands him a brace. “It’s tuned to vibranium. It’ll call your shield back to you” Tony explains and Steve nods smiling. 

“Thanks, Tony,” he says and follows Clint and Bruce out of the hotel. The faster they head for Sokovia the longer it will take SHIELD to notice. 

* * *

“Are you ready to see him?” Bruce asks Steve. 

“I’ve been ready since I found out he was still alive” Steve assures him. “Whoever it is - whatever they did to him - I’m going to save him,” Steve vows and Bruce nods. 

“And we’re right there with you. Hell cap even the other guy listens to you” Bruce says and Steve smiles slightly nodding in thanks to Bruce. 

The plane starts to lower and Clint nods to them. “I hope Tony’s okay with us scratching the paint” he smirks, lowering it in a forest clearing. 

Steve smirks back and they set out into the forest. The few guard outposts are easy and Bruce sticks behind Steve hoping he won’t need to Hulk out. 

“It’s a forcefield” Steve whispers as his shield flies back from where it bounced off. 

“Uh uh,” Clint nods and loads up an arrow aiming it for the ground. It digs under the dirt and around the other side of the barrier. They look at him and a massive emp blast fires off. 

Every electronic inside the forcefield goes down the alarms start blaring. “I’ll draw fire. You two get Bucky and the scepter” Bruce hisses and sprints off. 

“Do you think-” Clint starts, and then they hear the Hulk roaring. 

Steve shrugs. “I think we do what Bruce told us to.” 

“You get your man and I’ll get Loki’s scepter,” Clint says and climbs in through a window. Steve climbs in one and makes for the doors. 

He climbs to the top of some steps and hears a heartbeat but he can’t see anyone. He looks up around and suddenly he’s surrounded by red. Steve can’t move anything but his head. He turns his head hearing footsteps. The young woman from the video with Bucky steps into view and tilts her head. 

“You’re his captain,” she says with a thick Sokovian accent. She’s a native around here. 

“Bucky?” Steve asks hopefully and she nods lowering her hands. He can move his limbs again and she nods at him. He follows her watching as they keep to the shadows. 

He sees soldiers coming and raises his shield but red touches their temples and they keep running by. “Who are they?” Steve asks. 

“They say SHIELD but their minds say Hydra. It is all the same. Tiny men with large egos” she says and brings him into the main console room. Well, she’s not wrong.

Steve pulls out a harddrive having learned from Natasha and plugs it in. “My brother is showing your archer to the scepter,” she says and turns to him. “Wanda Maximoff.”

He takes her hand. “Steve Rogers” he greets and her mouth spreads into a wide toothy grin. Not unlike the Cheshire cat. 

“Steve” a voice sounds out. A voice that strikes through Steve’s heart like an iron poker. He breathes out shakily and turns to see Bucky behind him. 

“Buck” Steve chokes out and throws himself into Bucky’s arms. Bucky looks up at him blue-grey eyes filled with tears and Steve rests their foreheads together. 

One of them or maybe both of them whimper and Steve shudders in Bucky’s arms. Bucky pushes up lips parting and Steve leans in- “Holy fucking shit dude” Clint cries out and Steve whips around. 

His eyes scan for his teammate and he sees Clint holding the scepter, a boy with white hair almost vibrating beside him. “This is my twin brother, Pietro” Wanda introduces and he nods. 

In less than a blink of an eye, he’s standing beside his sister, blue eyes rapidly taking in the room. “Steve Rogers- Clint Barton,” he says and Clint nods. He walks up to Bucky and holds out a hand.

“It’s good to finally meet you instead of listening to cap wax poetic,” Clint teases and Bucky’s lips quirk into a smile. 

“I don’t know, Stevie was never that bad with poetry,” Bucky says and Clint laughs. They hear a roar closer to them and Steve nods. 

“Right Pietro was it? Do you think you could get me out to the Hulk?” Steve asks. He looks to his sister who nods and dashes over to Steve grabbing his arms. 

“Wait,” Bucky says and they all look at him. “You’re not going anywhere until we do this” Bucky mumbles and yanks, Steve, into a kiss. 

Pietro steps back smirking at them as Wanda smiles and Clint smirks twirling the scepter. Steve pulls Bucky up closer to him and tilts his head so he can slip his tongue into Bucky’s mouth. 

“I missed you,” Steve says into Bucky’s mouth when they pull back. 

“I missed you too,” Bucky says and presses one last peck to his lips. “Be safe” Bucky grins and Pietro grabs Steve. Wind whips over them and they’re gone. 

Seconds later Pietro is back in front of them. “He said to get you guys to the ship and then go back” he shrugs and grabs Clint and Wanda. 

Clint jolts against the wall while Pietro steadies his sister and then he’s gone again. “Wanda right?” Clint asks and she nods. “Were you born like this or did...” Clint trails off waving the scepter. 

“Made,” Wanda says shortly and he nods. He doesn’t want to pry, at least not now. 

Bucky is set down on the ship and he shakes out his head before patting Wanda on the shoulder. He starts flipping a knife around in his hands. Steve eyes him and Bucky blinks realizing what he was doing. It’s a way to pass the time- keep his hands busy. Bucky shrugs and Steve just shakes his head fondly. 

A gust of wind and Bruce is lying on the ship floor and Steve kneels down beside him. “Okay you’re calm it’s okay. Let’s get you some clothes Bruce” he says softly and Bucky stares. He watched the same presentation the twins did. He knows about the Hulk. But it’s still overwhelming to see in person. 

“Where are we going, Cap?” Clint asks once the scepter is secured in one of Stark’s chamber vault things. 

“Back to DC,” Steve says and Clint smiles nodding. 

“Everyone buckle up” he orders and shoots Stark’s plane off into the sky. 


	8. Chapter 8

“We should have kept someone” Tony coughs, flying Natasha away from the exploded bunker. 

“Yep,” Natasha agrees as he sets her down away from the SHIELD team sent to collect them. 

“What do we do then?” Tony asks and Natasha throws her hands up. 

“I don’t know Tony. Really I don’t. Fury killed Pierce. Shot him point-blank. Hill and he are on the run. She’s more loyal to him than anything.” Natasha rambles and Tony nods. He knows he saw the footage too. 

“Maybe, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, we ought to go find Fury and hear him out,” Tony says and Natasha shrugs. 

“What could it hurt?” she asks and Tony nods, picking her up and waits for her to tense up. They shoot into the sky and he thinks about where Fury might go. “There are ghost procedures. Technically only Hill knows them” Natasha begins and Tony grins. Now they’re talking. 

Nat directs them to an underground bunker and Tony blasts open the front door. Fury greets them hands up and back up as Tony points his repulsors and Natasha has her guns trained on Hill. 

“Okay let's have a chat”, Fury says and they glance at each other. 

“Start talking,” Natasha snaps, and Hill glances at Fury. 

“Project Insight - ” Fury starts. 

“No, we got that - kill the threats before they are threats. But why shoot Pierce?” Tony asks.

“Because he’s not SHIELD. It seems as if there was an infiltration recently” Fury begins. Tony and Natasha both hold back a snort. Zola told them there was never not the Hydra parasite in SHIELD. It means their instincts were correct, the whole thing has to go. 

* * *

“Okay so we have to take down three hellicarriers at once and I can do the hacking if Fury does the stalling. Hill is ready to take out the ships but how are we going to get on the ships? You can’t do them all, Tony” Natasha says. 

“We might be able to help.” Clint grins and turns to see them running up to the bunker. “I saw Fury went ghost.” He shrugs. 

“Oh you’ve missed so much,” Natasha says and they see Bucky besides Steve. 

“I see you got Barnes but who are the strays?” Tony asks. 

“Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. Twins that Strucker experimented on. Not important right now but they can help us shut down those hellicarriers. Then we can talk” Steve says and Tony grins. 

“I can stall Hydra,” Bucky adds. 

“We don’t know who’s Hydra and who’s SHIELD. There can’t be too many Hydra so it should be easy to weed them out,” Hill says and Bucky snorts. 

“It’s been Hydra since it started and you let Zola in,” Bucky says and they protest. 

“Nope old man number two is right. Again long story but let’s shut it all down and then talk” Tony interrupts. 

“Okay here’s what I’m thinking,” Steve says and they all huddle up.

* * *

“Go,” Steve says into his coms and Hill strolls in with Bucky at her side. Mask and goggles on. 

Sitwell is running point on the meeting upstairs with the council members. “Fury has been dealt with,” Hill says and nods towards Bucky who doesn’t so much as blink at the acknowledgment. “I’ll oversee Insight’s target launch,” she says and Sitwell looks surprised but nods at her. 

“Nick,” Maria says into her comms and opens the doors to the weapons room. 

Fury makes his way to the helicopter off sight that Barton is piloting and nods to him. Hill is in. They just need Romanoff’s queue now. 

“The ships are going up,” Hill tells Pietro. She looks to Barnes who is guarding the door and nods to her. They’re good for now. 

“On it” he mumbles and gets Steve to the alpha ship, and Wanda to the bravo ship. Stark is taking the charlie ship. 

“Bravo secure” Wanda tells Hill watching her brother zip around tying up and knocking out guards. 

“Alpha secure,” Steve tells them. “Stark?” Steve asks. 

“Hold on” Tony murmurs over coms. 

“Alright, Maximoff’s get to the top of your helicarrier." Steve orders and then switches back to Tony, "Stark what is the holdup?”

“Nothing, I got it. Charlie ship secure.” Stark says and Steve rolls his eyes. He makes for the top of his ship and climbs into one of the quinjets. 

He flies it to the base of the bravo ship and opens the back. “Good to go,” Pietro says in his ear and Steve glances to see Wanda sitting down. He nods and watches Stark fly in front of them. 

“HYDRA’s got your tail now. All of you go, the targets are changed” Hill says and they shoot off. 

“I’m sorry did I step on your moment?” they hear Natasha say and Clint takes off in the helicopter. 

“Are you sure you're ready for the world to know where your loyalties really lie?” Sitwell asks and Natasha looks up. 

“Are you?” she asks with a smirk and watches Fury touchdown. 

“It requires two alpha level retina scans and Fury killed Pierce,” Sitwell says shifting awkwardly. 

“Aw, you think we wouldn’t catch the promotion you gave yourself.” Natasha laughs and drags him over to the screens. 

“I removed Fury’s credentials,” Sitwell tells her and then turns to see the helicopter land. 

“Oh I’m sure you tried your best,” Natasha says and Fury nods to her. Over the loudspeaker, Steve begins a speech about freedom and Natasha spills SHIELD’s files to the internet. 

Sitwell goes down and Natasha points her gun at Fury next. “Romanoff -” he begins. 

“This makes us even Nick. You leave our team alone” Natasha warns him, voice like ice, and Fury nods. 

Natasha holsters her gun and they watch the helicarrier crash back into the water. “I thought they were supposed to explode,” Natasha tells Clint as she and Fury climb into the helicopter. Hill and Barnes sprint out the doors next and dive into the doors shouting at them to go. 

“They will. In the water and, you know, take down the building with them. Which is why Cap told them all to get out,” Tony says over coms and they shrug. “We’ll round up Hydra.” he continues and they set the helicopter to land beside Stark’s private plane. 

Steve lands the quinjet beside it as well and sprints over to Bucky. They pull each other into a hug and kiss as Stark gets the plane ready to go. 

“Did you patch yourself into SHIELD’s speakers?” Nat asks Steve who shrugs. 

“I’ve learned a thing or two” Steve grins and laces his fingers with Bucky climbing aboard. 

“Are you two okay?” Bucky asks the twins who smile and nod. 

“Where are we going now?” Pietro asks, watching Clint turn the plane engines on. 

“New York. We’re going to Stark tower” Tony says and Natasha nods opening up the files that she released. 

“You know Rumlow was Hydra,” Tony notes, seeing Jarvis’s analysis based on connections to Pierce and Sitwell. 

“Almost the entire STRIKE team is” Hill adds looking at Rollins and the rest. 

Natasha snaps her gaze over to Clint who looks shocked. “Damn it” Steve sighs and leans against Bucky. 

“Strucker seemed to think he and others were off the grid” Wanda speaks up. 

“Then we’ll take them down too,” Steve vows.

“I’m not sure how I feel about you two in our house but Jarvis will make sure you play nice” Tony says to Fury and Hill. The Avengers raise their eyebrows at that. Their house. “Of course you two twins we’ll give a good look at. And hey Bruce how was your nap?” Tony asks, watching him walk into the main area of the plane. 

“You forgot I was in here” Bruce accuses and they shrug. 

“Maybe a little,” Natasha says, holding up two fingers and he rolls his eyes. 


	9. Chapter 9

“Boss you have guests” Happy says upon their arrival and Tony looks into the camera. 

“Send them up” Tony shrugs and Happy sighs mumbling about not being paid enough and the group gets into the elevator. 

“Tony?” Steve asks and the elevator opens. Rebecca, Kim, and a blond man step out. As well as a taller woman probably just under six feet with auburn hair and bright green eyes. 

The blond man and taller woman are arguing about being lawyers. “Ha good to see you Scott” the woman grins. 

“You too Jen” Scott nods back and they turn to face the assorted group. 

“Hi Jen,” Bruce says and she steps forward and wraps him in a hug. 

“Bruce you could have called” she tsks and he laughs. 

“This is my cousin Jen Walters” he introduces and they all greet her. 

“Jimmy” Rebecca whispers and his eyes snap to hers. He looks at Steve who’s smiling softly and he realizes exactly who this is. Only one person has ever called him Jimmy. 

“Becca,” he chokes out and wraps his baby sister into a bear hug. “Who are they?” Bucky asks looking at the blond man and woman. Who looks to be more his age than his own little sister now. 

“My grandchildren. Scott and Kimberly” Rebecca introduces. “Oh I’m so glad Stevie found you” Rebecca sobs into his neck and he pulls her tighter against him smiling at the two young people. 

Steve hugs Kimberly and says something into her ear that makes her smile before he shakes Scott’s hand. 

“I’m not going anywhere, Becca. I’m so sorry I left you but I want to hear all about your life” Bucky says pulling her back. 

“Oh I’m sure you do Jim but come one this looks like the makings of a party if I’ve ever seen one,” Rebecca says looking around and Tony grins. 

“I like you” Tony proclaims. “JARVIS, call Rhodey and Pepper and tell them we’ve got a party happening,” Tony says and walks off to work on food and drinks. 

“You work with the Hulk’s cousin?” Kim hisses to Scott. 

“Ah no, he works for the competing firm to Doctor Bruce Banner’s cousin” Jen interrupts and Kim laughs awkwardly but still hits her older brother on the shoulder. 

He rolls his eyes and walks over to speak with Steve some more. “Anyone seen Tony?” Clint calls and they shrug. 

“Come on- music” Natasha proclaims, grabbing Clint’s hand and dragging him towards the speakers.  
  


* * *

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here for the night?” Tony asks Rebecca, Scott, Kim, and Jen. 

“I have a hotel room” Jen assures them and Bruce walks over handing Jen her jacket. “We’re going to 5th avenue tomorrow Brucie. So I expect you to be at my hotel bright and early with my favorite coffee and ready to carry my bags” Jen says walking with him. 

“Of course Jen” Bruce laughs and walks to the elevator with her. “Let’s get you a cab, cous” he smiles and JARVIS takes them down. 

They wave goodbye to Jen and Rebecca takes her jacket from Bucky. “Thank you Tony but Kim’s gotta get home and Scott is staying with me” Rebecca smiles and hugs Bucky. “Come to visit soon okay,” she says and Bucky nods. 

“Promise,” he tells her and kisses her forehead. They walk them downstairs. 

Scott gets into front of the car and Rebecca into the passenger seat. “Let me know when you wanna start the wedding planning” Kim whispers to Steve. Well, her drunken attempt at whispering. She actually sort of shouts it into his ear while Bucky looks amused. 

“Yeah, Steve let her know about that” Bucky grins, and Steve flushes, staring at him. 

“See Uncle Bucky is down for it” Kim giggles. 

“Alright, Kimmy, in the car,” Scott says and she groans and climbs into the backseat. Rebecca shakes her head and Kim waves goodbye. Scott waves as well and they drive off. 

Steve wraps his arm around Bucky’s shoulders and Bucky wraps his metal arm around Steve’s waist. 

“I like that,” Bucky says softly, leaning his head against Steve’s shoulder as they walk inside. 

“The idea of a wedding?” Steve asks and Bucky smiles. 

“Well yes, but I meant being called Uncle Bucky. And to think Kim’s my great-niece” Bucky says and Steve smiles. He has no doubt in his mind that once Bucky gets to know them he’ll love Kim just as much as he does. 

Steve takes Bucky to his room and Bucky smiles at the picture of him and Steve laughing during an interview where Howard wouldn’t stop cracking jokes from out of the range of the microphones. 

Bucky laughs seeing the picture of Peggy is still in Steve’s compass. He wonders if she’s still alive. He’ll have to ask Steve.

Bucky’s grin turns to a soft smile while he sees the last portrait Steve made of him from the war. Up on the alps before the train. He clearly painted it at some point. 

“I’m not that man anymore,” Bucky tells Steve fingers tracing his missing shoulder on the picture. 

“Till the end of the line Buck,” Steve murmurs to him and kisses below his ear. Bucky shivers and turns around so he can kiss Steve senseless. 

“Steve, we got a problem,” Tony’s voice crackles over the speaker. Bucky groans and lays his forehead against Steve’s shoulder. 

“Can it wait till tomorrow?” Steve asks, gritting his teeth. 

“Um probably but just check your news feed,” Tony says and the speakers turn off. Steve huffs and pulls out his phone. 

“Well fuck” Bucky says staring at the headlines. 

_ Avengers a subset of Hydra? _

_ Captain Hydra? _

_ Has Stark Industries always been a Nazi institute? _

_ Communist infiltration of our government? _

_ The Hulk: a Nazi weapon? _

_ Super-spy Hawkeye works for extraterrestrial terrorist _

“Pepper says it can wait till tomorrow. PR is working on it” Tony’s voice crackles over the speakers pausing their scrolling. 

Steve looks at the pictures of them working with members of Hydra. “They never stop do they?” Bucky asks and Steve shakes his head. 

“Tomorrow?” they ask each other at the same time and laugh. 

“Tomorrow” Steve assures Bucky and pushes him back onto the bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooh welcome to the end. I hope everyone enjoyed this story I really enjoyed writing it. I've fallen in love with this AU I've set up. Anyway thanks again to my artist, beta, and all the mods for making this possible. Best of wishes and health to everyone. 
> 
> Love,
> 
> Rainbow

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Art For "The Last Portrait" by Rainbow820](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28096257) by [Taste_is_Sweet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taste_is_Sweet/pseuds/Taste_is_Sweet)




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